Mickeys

Tiger Woods intends to remain out of golf at least until the Masters, two people with knowledge of his plans said on Thursday.

Tiger Woods

oods has been practicing at Isleworth near his Orlando home the last two weeks, and swing coach Hank Haney flew there during the weekend to work with him. That led to speculation on Thursday he was close to playing again.

The two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because only Woods is supposed to release such information, say he is likely to play first at Augusta National in April.

Woods twice has gone nine weeks without competing before showing up at a major. The first time was in 2006, when he didn’t play after the Masters while coping with his father’s death, then missed the cut in a major for the first time in the US Open at Winged Foot. Two years ago, he was out with knee surgery until winning the US Open at Torrey Pines on a shattered left knee.

Woods has not played since November 15, when he won the Australian Masters in Melbourne for his 82nd career victory. Twelve days later, he crashed his sport utility vehicle into a tree near his Florida home, setting off shocking revelations that he had been cheating on his wife.

In his first public appearance February 19 at the TPC Sawgrass, when he apologised for his behaviour and confessed to having extra-marital affairs, he said he would return to golf and that “I don’t rule out that it will be this year.”

There have been signs during the last few weeks he was getting closer.

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A skydiver has survived plunging 3,000ft to the ground after a parachute jump went disastrously wrong.

Lareece Butler Picture from Lareece Butler's Facebook page

Lareece Butler, 26, suffered only bruises, a broken leg and concussion when she slammed into the ground, entangled in her chute.

The parachute was attached to the plane by a static line and was supposed to open after she leapt from the aircraft.

But instead, Miss Butler became caught up in the lines, spiralling to Earth as her terrified boyfriend looked helplessly on.

Doctors said her survival was “nothing but divine intervention, nothing short of a miracle”.

She is in a stable but serious condition in hospital following the incident in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Joos Vos, the manager of the EP Skydiving Club, said: “She was trained in all facets she needed to enjoy and perform a safe static line jump.

“Lareece exited the aircraft at 3,000ft (about 1,000m) performing a static line jump in an unstable body position which resulted in an entanglement of the main parachute with her harness.”

Family members told South African media Miss Butler was pushed out of the aircraft after refusing to jump – a claim rejected by the club.

Mr Vos said Miss Butler, who was an inexperienced skydiver, did not release her emergency parachute as she had been trained to do.

An investigation has been launched.

story from SkyNews

Scotland wing Thom Evans has had neck surgery after being injured in the RBS 6 Nations clash against Wales at the Millennium Stadium.

The incident happened towards the end of the first half

The 24-year-old Glasgow player was carried off following a sickening first-half collision and taken to Cardiff’s University Hospital.

Scotland Rugby team doctor James Robson said Evans was “moving his arms and legs”.

Full-back Chris Paterson, who won his 100th cap, was also being treated after suffering damage to his right kidney.

Robson said: “Thom has sustained damage to his neck that has required surgery.

“He is moving his arms and legs, and we are hoping for a speedy recovery.

“Chris sustained damage to his right kidney during a collision in the first half.

“On behalf of the players, their families and the entire Scotland party, I would like to thank the hospital staff and the medical team at the Millennium Stadium for the quality of their care.”

Scotland head coach Andy Robinson added: “Our thoughts are with Thom and Chris. We wish both a speedy recovery.”

Evans, who played for Wasps before he joined Glasgow in 2006, has won 10 caps for Scotland, and is a former England Under-21 international.

His elder brother Max, who was among the substitutes today, scored Scotland’s second try as they built an 18-9 interval advantage.

Wales won the game 31-24.

taken from SkyNews

South African captain Graeme Smith suffered a finger injury on Friday, causing a scare in the tourists’ camp ahead of a decisive Test match against India.

Graeme Smith

Smith hurt the little finger on his left hand during the team’s fielding session at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, where the second and final Test starts on Sunday.

X-rays did not reveal a fracture, but Smith was set to undergo an MRI scan to determine if the injury was more serious than a sprained ligament.

“There is no fracture, but we need an MRI scan done, to be sure it is not a serious injury,” team spokesman Michael Owen-Smith told reporters.

“It looks to be some sort of a ligament damage. At this stage it’s being treated as a sprained ligament.”

South Africa, who won the first Test in Nagpur by an innings and six runs on Tuesday, need a draw to dislodge India from the number one position in the official Test rankings.

taken from Sport24

Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has praised Graeme Smith for his leadership skills following the Proteas’ innings victory over their hosts in the first Test match that finished at Nagpur on Tuesday.

Graeme Smith

“There was obviously a lot of turmoil in the South African camp following the departure of the coach and the sacking of the selection committee,” commented Gavaskar. “Smith may not have got runs in this Test match but the way he pulled the team together to play such competitive and intense cricket on all four days says a lot about his leadership skills.”

Gavaskar also described Dale Steyn, one of the Proteas’ match winners, as one of the best exponents of late reverse swing he had seen since Indian superstar Kapil Dev.

Kapil is regarded as India’s best all rounder and opening bowler of all time. For a while he held the record as the leading Test wicket taker with 434 dismissals before he was overtaken by Courtney Walsh of the West Indies who became the first bowler to take more than 500 wickets.

Steyn currently has 195 wickets in only 37 Test matches. Clarrie Grimmett, the Australian leg spinner of the 1930s, is the fastest to 200 wickets in 36 matches while Dennis Lillee of Australia and Waqar Younis of Pakistan (both 38) are the next best.

Allan Donald is the fastest South African to date (42 matches).

Steyn’s current strike rate of 38.9 is the fourth fastest of all time. Of modern bowlers only Shane Bond of New Zealand (38.7) has done better.

taken from Sport24

Former Springbok rugby coach, Jake White, rushed to the rescue of two “retired” race horses to save them from a life of misery in Philippi last week.

White, who coached South Africa to World Cup victory in 2007, was at an event where he heard of the terrible conditions in which the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) had found the two purebred horses.

He immediately responded with an offer to put up the animals, said Allan Perrins, executive head of the Cape of Good Hope SPCA.

White’s wife, Lindy Taberer, breeds with show horses on the horse farm Avontuur on the R44 between Stellenbosch and Somerset West.

The stallion New Horizon and the mare London Tabloid had in their day been famous race horses that could have been sold for thousands of rands.

A foal and an Arab, both potentially purebred race horses, were found with the other two and also confiscated.

London Tabloid was bred from the world-famous champion stallion London News.

Perrins said the problem with purebred horses which no longer had any use, was in establishing who their owners were.

In both cases, there were fortunately clauses in the purchasing contracts which enabled the former owners to immediately sign over the horses to the SPCA once news of their plight came to light.

Perrins said they had twice issued warnings to Irene Steyn from Ottery before a court order was procured. Steyn was allegedly the owner of the four horses.

“Charges against the owner would be made as soon as the veterinarians completed their reports. We are here dealing with a real Cruella de Ville.

“We know her well, the SPCA has made court cases against her since 2006,” said Perrins.

Steyn appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Monday on charges relating to a separate issue.

She was accused of breeding pit bull terriers for dogfights.

taken from News24

Melbourne – Swiss great Roger Federer won his fourth Australian Open and 16th Grand Slam title to deny Andy Murray’s quest for British tennis history on Sunday.

Roger Federer

Federer’s remarkable level of consistency continued when he mastered the Scottish fifth seed in straight sets, 6-3 6-4 7-6 (13/11) in two hours 41 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.

The world number one clinched victory in a gripping tie-breaker, 13 points to 11, when Murray frittered five set points and the Swiss claimed it on his third match point.

“I’m over the moon winning this title again,” he said. “I played some of the best tennis in my life again over the last two weeks.

“It’s very special to win my first Grand Slam as a father.”

He praised Murray for putting up such a good fight.

“Andy, you played an incredible tournament. You are too good a player not to win a Grand Slam, so don’t worry about it.”

The victory came when Murray netted a forehand to climax a draining match.

It was the Scot’s second Grand Slam loss to Federer following his defeat to the him in the 2008 US Open final and continued Britain’s frustrating chase for a first male Grand Slam winner since Fred Perry last won 74 years ago.

“I had great support back home, I’m sorry I couldn’t do it for you tonight,” Murray said as his voice cracked with emotion and he choked back tears.

“I can cry like Roger, it’s just a shame that I can’t play like him,” he joked.

“He was a lot better than me tonight. But I’ve loved every minute of it and I hope to sometime come back and win.”

It is now 279 Grand Slam tournaments since Perry beat American Donald Budge in the 1936 US Open final.

Federer has now won 16 Grand Slams in the span of 27 majors and has lost only six finals in that time.

He became the fifth man in history to win four Australian Open titles with the last man to do so American Andre Agassi in 2003.

A shaky Murray was broken in his opening service with Federer hitting a forehand winner, but the Scot broke back straight away with a forehand on double break point.

Federer fought off three break points in the fifth game as Murray got into more of a rhythm, but the Swiss top seed broke again when it counted in the eighth and served out for the set in 43 minutes.

Murray came more under attack in the second set as Federer turned up the heat and broke the Scot in the third game when he netted a forehand.

Murray fought off break points in his next two service games as Federer dictated more of the play and the world number one cruised to three set points and won it on his second point with a forehand.

The young Scot threw down the challenge, breaking Federer in the sixth game but was broken back while serving for the third set.

The set went into a dramatic 24-point tie-breaker with Murray having five chances to take the match into a fourth set and stay alive, and Federer having three match points.

In the end, the cool Swiss prevailed under incredible tension to take the championship when Murray, who winced from a hip injury, netted a forehand.

Roger Federer’s path to the Australian Open title (x denotes seeding):

1st rd bt Igor Andreev (RUS) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/2), 6-0

2nd rd bt Victor Hanescu (ROM) 6-2, 6-3, 6-2

3rd rd bt Albert Montanes (ESP x31) 6-3, 6-4, 6-4

4th rd bt Lleyton Hewitt (AUS x22) 6-2, 6-3, 6-4

Q-F bt Nikolay Davydenko (RUS x6) 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, 7-5

S-F bt Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x10) 6-2, 6-3, 6-2

Final bt Andy Murray (GBR x5) 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (13/11)

taken from Sport24

Melbourne – An ecstatic Serena Williams fulfilled a long-held goal on Saturday when she drew level with her idol Billie-Jean King by winning a 12th Grand Slam.

Serena Williams

Williams ended the remarkable comeback run of Justine Henin with a pulsating 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory in the Australian Open final, played in front of an admiring King and a host of other legends of the game at Rod Laver Arena.

She revealed that it was a dream come true.

“Billie, we’re tied so I reached my goal,” the 28-year-old said in her victory speech.

“It’s so cool finally to do it, that was my goal, but I didn’t want to say it was my goal,” she added later.

“To even be mentioned in the same breath as her is awesome.

“Now I can focus on doing what she was able to do off the court.”

It was Williams’ fifth Australian Open title — a record in the Open era — having already won in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009.

She has also won one French Open, three Wimbledons and three US Opens.

King won one Australian title, one French, six Wimbledons and four US Opens during her legendary career.

The two Americans though lag far behind the all-time Grand Slam winner, Australia’s Margaret Smith Court who has an incredible 24 to her name.

Fittingly, Court was on hand to present Williams with her trophy on Saturday.

The other big-time Grand Slam champions are Steffi Graf (22), Helen Wills Moody (19), and Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert (both 18).

taken from Sport24

Ruben Kruger, a World Cup-winner with South Africa in 1995, has died aged 39 after a decade-long battle with cancer.

Kruger was named South Africa's player of the year in 1995

A formidable flanker who won 36 international caps, Kruger was South Africa’s player of the year in the season that the newly democratic nation won the World Cup on home soil.

“Ruben Kruger was the epitome of the Springbok flanker: tough, indomitable and with an outstanding work ethic,” Oregan Hoskins, president of the South African Rugby Union, said. “When Ruben was on the field, you always knew that the Springboks would not be beaten without a tremendous battle.”

“Our prayers have been with him through his battles against illness and it is very sad to hear of his early passing. Our thoughts are with his young family and we extend to them our sincerest condolences.”

Kruger, who is survived by his wife and two young daughters, scored seven tries for South Africa, most famously in the 1995 semi-final against France.

Played by the actor Grant Roberts in Invictus, the new film about the 1995 World Cup, Kruger made his debut for the Free State in 1993 — the same year he won his first of Springbok caps against Argentina in Buenos Aires. He joined Northern Transvaal (now the Blue Bulls) in 1994 and retired because of knee injuries after the 1999 Rugby World Cup.

taken from TimesOnline

A man has been charged with throwing a coin at Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy causing him to fall to the ground.

Craig Bellamy reacts as he is struck by a missile from the crowd

Adam Teese, of Nelstrop Road North, Heaton Chapel, Greater Manchester, is accused of “throwing a missile onto the pitch” during the Manchester derby on Wednesday night.

Bellamy was taking a corner in the 50th minute of the Carling Cup semi-final at Old Trafford when he was hit.

Teese, 26, is due to appear at Trafford Magistrates’ Court on February 9.

Police said Paul Rooney Nelson, of Melton Road, Crumpsall, has also been charged for trying to enter the ground while drunk.

The 35-year-old will appear at the same court on February 11.

Two other men received fixed penalty notices for public order offences and a third man was fined for being drunk and disorderly.

Six other men, arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, affray and conspiracy to commit violent disorder, were bailed pending further inquiries.

There was a huge police presence at the derby after trouble at the first leg last week.

A total of 29 people were arrested in connection with the first game, which City won 2-1. United’s 3-1 win yesterday gave them a 4-3 aggregate victory.

Assistant Chief Constable Ian Hopkins, of Greater Manchester Police, said the vast majority of fans behaved “very well”.

taken from SkyNews

Johannesburg – The day after Mickey Arthur’s resignation as national coach, South Africa’s selection panel has also been sacked by the board.

Mike Procter

Mike Procter, the now former convenor of selectors, confirmed the development to a Talk Radio 702 in Johannesburg.

Procter told the station that Cricket South Africa had fired the entire selection panel, which included Craig Matthews, Winky Ximiya and Mustapha Khan, and an interim one would be appointed to serve until February 19.

“It came as a huge shock to us all,” Procter said. He added that only CSA would be able to confirm if the developments were linked to the transformation issue.

“I had a phone call early on Tuesday morning, Gerald Majola informing me that this selection panel would not be required in future,” Procter told eNews.

“Everyone was told that this was going to be a talk after the series. We were just going to make some presentations. They weren’t going to come after anyone. It wasn’t going to be a witch hunt.

“I think we had too short a time in the business, as selectors we always gave our own thoughts, we never ended up voting on issues, we talked around issues, we enjoyed each others company and I think we were doing pretty well. The time we had was too short but we did introduce some new players.”

Matthews, a member of the selection panel, said he understood that Majola would head the interim panel until a new one was put in place. “The way I understand it, there will be an interim selection panel and Gerald will be the convenor of selectors until a new panel has been picked,” he told the Cricinfo website. “We weren’t given any reason for the decision (sacking). All that was said was that the board felt the selection process was flawed and that they want to restructure it.

“It might be a transformation issue, but they didn’t give us any reasons, all they said was that the process needs to be reworked. I have been part of South African cricket for many years, nothing really surprises me anymore.”

The sacked panel took over as selectors in December 2008, just before the historic series victory in Australia which put South Africa on top of both the Test and the ODI rankings. Results went downhill after that, losing the return Test series against Australia and only managing to draw the home series against England which ended earlier this month. Between those two assignments were the loss in the World Twenty20 semi-finals and the embarrassingly early exit in the ICC Champions Trophy they hosted. The panel’s tenure was supposed to be till the 2011 World Cup, the same as Arthur’s.

Arthur will speak to the media along with CSA CEO Gerald Majola at 11:00 this morning in East London, live on the SuperSport Blitz channel.

taken from Sport24

Cape Town – England has been heavily touted in the UK media as next port of employment call for Mickey Arthur, who resigned earlier this week as Proteas coach.

Mickey Arthur

One report said a quest to have Kepler Wessels installed as replacement would probably be “dismissed out of hand” while another pointed to the fact that cricket has no Alex Ferguson equivalent, making coaches the more likely sacrificial lambs in power struggles with captains.

It was also suggested that Ashes-winning former England coach Duncan Fletcher, who spends most of his time in the Western Cape, was weary of travelling and would not seek the South African job.

Nick Hoult of the Daily Telegraph said Arthur had “targeted” a move to England.

“(He) has long held ambitions to coach in county cricket. Arthur was linked with the director of cricket position at Surrey last year – Chris Adams was eventually appointed – and was also a candidate for the England job after Peter Moores’s sacking.

“At the moment there are no openings at counties, so he will look for a consultancy role similar to the one Fletcher fills with Hampshire.”
The paper quoted Arthur as saying: “I would love a job in England and can bide my time until the next opportunity.”

The Guardian’s David Hopps insisted – despite subsequent dampening signals by Kiwi cricket bosses – that Arthur would be head-hunted by New Zealand.

“(They) have been without a coach since Andy Moles resigned and their chief executive Justin Vaughan has been a firm admirer of Arthur ever since he piloted South Africa to a historic victory in Australia.

“Fletcher has had his fill of the touring life and an Afrikaan-led (sic) campaign for the no-nonsense Kepler Wessels to take charge and challenge Smith’s authority as captain is likely to be dismissed out of hand.

“Smith, as ever, is sitting upwind. His power base is as strong as that of the disgraced former captain Hansie Cronje … his qualities remain essential to South Africa’s future.”

The views of Lawrence Booth, in the Daily Mail, flew slightly in the face of local reports on Wednesday suggesting that talk of an irreparable rift between Smith and Arthur as key reason for the latter’s resignation was exaggerated.

“Arthur lost the confidence of senior players in the South African team. Graeme Smith and others grew unhappy with Arthur’s contribution and his head was on the block when (they) failed in September’s Champions Trophy.

“He jumped before he was pushed.”

John Stern, editor of The Wisden Cricketer magazine, writing on Cricinfo, said: “Arthur’s departure is confirmation of where the power lies in a cricket dressing room. There is no Alex Ferguson (the fiery Manchester United boss) in cricket.

“Coaches might pick the team but they certainly don’t have total control or accountability for team affairs.

“A successful captain, as Smith assuredly is, will always win in a power struggle with a coach and Arthur will have been well aware of that.

“He is a young man, in his early 40s, with a good CV. He shouldn’t be short of offers, whether from a county or the IPL.

“For now, he can sit back and enjoy the Sharks rugby team and following his daughters on the local tennis circuit.”

taken from Sport24

Reports this week claimed that Caster Semenya will indeed race in the local season, which starts in a few weeks. Health24’s FitnessDoc, Dr Ross Tucker comments.

Caster Semenya

As has been the case on numerous occasions in this ongoing saga, every day brings with it more denials and confusion.

First, the IAAF and Semenya’s own lawyers denied that any decision clearing her had been reached. To them, the matter is still under discussion and they will only comment once the decision is made.

Then ASA acted by distancing themselves from the issue, saying that it is a matter for Semenya and her family, and that they have not received any clearance from the IAAF.

Not suspended, and therefore eligible to compete

Legally, of course, the IAAF have not banned her.  No suspension was ever handed down, and so in theory, she can run, as ASA recognised at the recent launch of the local track season.

However, there is more to this than a simple legal issue, and were she to race locally, it would once again stir the hornet’s next of allegation and counter-allegation that erupted last year in August.

Unfortunately, people have not seemed to recognise that a failure of a ban is not necessarily an endorsement of her eligibility to compete.

Meanwhile, her coach has clearly decided that he will plan the season without factoring this in, and perhaps this is all he can do – the alternative is to sit around waiting for a verdict, by which time 2010 may be beyond salvation as a competitive season.

What’s best for Semenya?

So Semenya can go ahead and run, because legally, there’s no barrier.  Whether this is the best for her does not seem to factor in the decisions of those in charge.

Remember, prior to Berlin, the medical advice was that she should not run pending further testing, and this was specifically to protect her against the potential fallout.  That advice was ignored.

Now, five months later, a similar situation exists – there is no concrete reason why she should not compete.  But given the doubt, the enormous question mark over her, does it really make sense to put her back into competition?

Is it really in her best interests to run until the verdict arrives, or is the prudent, wise approach not to wait on that decision and then run without any questions at all (assuming this is possible)?

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Blue Bulls logo

Pretoria – The Blue Bull will remain a bull and stay blue.

The Blue Bulls Company (BBM) said on Thursday that it will protect its intellectual property as it has evolved into an internationally recognised brand.

A controversy erupted this week when it came to light that the newly-established Tshwane Sports Council was considering changing the region’s traditional emblem, the Barbeton daisy.

New proposals with the colours white, black, yellow and green are being planned for representatives from the Tshwane region, which traditionally competes in light blue.

Bismarck Mosuoue, chairperson of the Tshwane Sports Council, said that the “implication” was that the Bulls’ emblem and light blue jersey would also be in the firing line.

However, BBM chief executive Barend van Graan said that they were the registered owners of the Daisy (in white shield), Blue Bulls logo, Bulls, Bulletjie, Loftus Versfeld and Vodacom Bulls Babes.

A meeting of the Tshwane Sports Council at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday night erupted into chaos when representatives of sporting bodies instituted a vote of no confidence in Mosuoe and his committee.

There was a big attendance at the meeting, including major codes such as rugby, cricket and athletics.

Representatives of smaller codes such as angling and gymnastics also raised their voices.

A number of questions were asked at the meeting about the processes followed in the establishment of the Tshwane Sports Council and what their mandate is.

Johan Welmans, DA spokesperson for Sport in the City of Tshwane, said that meddling politicians created controversy in sport.

taken from News24

Go Sharks go.......